MIDLAND, MI – While building soaring structures out of LEGO blocks might seem a snap to most folks, the artist behind “Icons of the Sky: LEGO Architecture of Adam Reed Tucker” at Midland’s Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art will tell you, it’s anything but child’s play.

“I capture the essence of the structure, as an artist and an architect,” said Tucker, who designs the LEGO Architecture kits. “It might be the world’s tallest building or one that was never built, brought back to life.

“I did each for various reasons; there’s a purpose behind each.”

Accompanied by “Classic Chicago: The Art of Architectural Drawings” and “The Architecture of an Idea: Illustrations and Concepts,” two large-scale train city scapes created in collaboration with the Michigan LEGO Users Group and a Snap-Zone Hands-On Children’s Education Area, it’s an exhibition that begs for repeat visits before they close Sept. 7, said museum director Bruce Winslow.

Winslow gathered 15 artists from around the United States and Canada to capture a sense of buildings through a wide variety of approaches in “The Architecture of an Idea.”

“Not everything is positively tangible,” he said. “You do see some purely artistic imagery and some different ways of interpreting what they see.”

And Chicago artist Jack Nixon’s work is “magnificent, magnificent, simply unbelievable,” he said.

Drawing influence from the Old World masters known for their paintings of past architecture, Nixon captured the iconic aspects of Chicago, from ornaments on facades to sculptures on its bridges.

“It is just phenomenal,” Winslow said. “The level of detail is stunning. As word of mouth grows, this exhibition is going to build. It’s one that engages its audience rather than just offering something to look at.”

A week before the exhibits opened May 11, Tucker came to Midland and assembled his 15 works, created with 553,000 standard LEGO blocks and transported in 60 to 70 crates. He’ll return in July as part of a series of related programs scheduled throughout the run.

Tucker began developing a keen sense of eye-to-hand coordination with his first set of LEGOs when he was 3 or 4, he said, and while his love of architecture led him into his first career, the blocks threw him a lifeline when economic woes hit the building industry.

Now he has his sights set on bridges, “trading vertical architecture for horizontal engineering,” Tucker said. “Man-made bridges have been around for 3,000 years and there are the obvious choices, but being famous or popular has nothing to do with my choices.

“It’s more or less about what they represent. I want to capture the story behind them.”

The museum at 1801 W. St. Andrews in Midland is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. Admission costs $9 for adults and $6 for children 4 to 14.